Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
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Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a computer role-playing game developed by Troika Games and published by Sierra Entertainment in 2001. The world of Arcanum is a mix of classic Tolkienesque fantasy and Victorian steampunk.
The game begins in a remote fantasy continent known as Arcanum. Within this continent there is a huge clash between the ancient arcane arts of magic, and the powerful technological and scientific advances brought on by an Industrial Revolution. As such, the game environment can range from beautiful Elvish treetop villages to smog-enshrouded cities. As well as Elves, other fantasy races such as Dwarves, Gnomes, Ogres, Orcs and Halflings are prominent within the game. Thus, the title character may travel from Dwarven mines to Orcish camps, and from Gnome-run cities to Halfling villages.
The politics of Arcanum are complicated, but easy enough to understand once explained. There is a great enmity between Elves and Dwarves, seeing as the former are naturally inclined towards a Magickal path, whilst the latters are the fore-runners in the Technological race. Scientists are not really welcome in Magickal society, whilst no Mage would ever be allowed on a steam train. Both Orcs and Ogres are looked down upon as savage, feral peoples by the civilised folk of Arcanum, and most of the industry is run or owned by business-minded Gnomes. Humans are inter-breeding with anything they can, creating a range of hybrid races such as Half-Orcs, Half-Elves and Half-Ogres.
The Industrial Revolution in Arcanum began when a gifted young boy named Gilbert Bates, in a bid to be accepted by a Dwarven clan, made modifications to a steam-engine which the Dwarves used to drain their mines of water. However, the boy's plans were laughed off by his Dwarven audience, and in a fit of youthful ignorance, he sold the plans to a mining company and made a huge fortune. Upon returning to tell the Dwarves of his success, Bates discovered that they had all vanished. However, he had little time to brood over his loss, seeing as the steam engine he had supposedly "invented" was making such a huge impact on the world.
One of the more prominent aspects of the game is that it makes clear the distinction between technology and magick by having them interfere with each other. Within the game, the character is able to deviate towards magic or technology. Attempting to utilize a device of opposite alignment from what the character is skilled with, results in anything from reduced functionality, to complete inactivity, to an outright explosion, depending on the character's aptitude and power of the device.
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Character System
The game was developed by members of the team that produced Fallout and shows this in its character system. The player begins the game selecting a premade character or designing a custom PC by combining race, gender, and an optional background (equivalent to the Traits in Fallout.) Some of these backgrounds have that game's sense of humor, such as "Beat with an Ugly Stick," and those three characteristics will have a great effect on how the character is treated by others. For instance, an Orc will have difficulty trying to smooth-talk a guard, and an Elf will have much easier access to Elven secrets.
Skills are handled on a point-based system, as opposed to the SPECIAL system's percentile scores. Regardless of points invested in a skill, the character must gain training from special trainer characters to get the bonuses of a higher skill level, and the highest level of training in a skill usually involves a quest.
Characteristics can be modified during gameplay. The character can acquire a variety of blessings or curses, gain enchantments or scientific enhancements. Certain actions will give the player Reputations, which will earn positive or negative reactions from varying groups, or even both at once.
Storytelling Method
Unlike Fallout, Arcanum does not begin with a particular dire quest: the player is on Arcanum's first Zeppelin for a reason sometimes detailed in the background, when it is shot down by inexplicable flying machines. A dying gnome in the wreckage gives the character a silver ring and a cryptic message to deliver to "the boy."
The game involves much more travel than Fallout's handful of destinations, usually returning to the same locations repeatedly as the plot twists and turns, with a much larger in-game time scale. There are sections of guaranteed combat, but it is possible to talk through large portions of the game's plot without fighting, and the player can use any mixture of magic, technology, or brute force en route. There are several opportunities for moral dilemmas and choices, which are recapped in a tour of the world after the game is completed.
Combat
The combat is based on Action Points, much like in Fallout, though it has the option of being run in real time. A character has a certain number of Action Points in a turn, and any given action requires the use of Action Points, though accessing the inventory does not require any Points. Points are based on Dexterity, though there are magical and technological ways to gain more Action Points in a turn.
The player is guaranteed a potential AI-controlled ally at the start of the game, and can gain a large group of followers if the character's Charisma is sufficiently high. As Arcanum does not have as much area-effect combat as Fallout, the allies don't make nuisances of themselves as often, though they often exhibit inappropriate timing in using magic spells or items.
While firearms are plentiful in the game, the situation is reversed from Fallout: the system seems to favor fast, light attacks from melee weapons over any other mode of attack. This has led to user-created patches to enhance the other weapons in the game.
The combat can become very violent as more powerful weapons are employed, resulting in graphic wounds, but it's a far cry from Fallout's melting skeletons, decapitated torsos and flaming corpses.
Trivia
Apart from all the influences in mechanics and design, there are some direct references to Fallout in the game.
- A freak show in the city of Tarant displays a brahmin, one of the two-headed cows of the wasteland.
- Quick action by the PC can earn a canine AI follower, Dog, a more powerful successor to Dogmeat.
- An entire segment of the map, Vendigroth, is littered with ruins of an advanced civilization brought low by an enormous disaster.
External links
- Official website (http://arcanum.sierra.com/us/)
- Terra-Arcanum - One of the oldest and most popular Arcanum Site (http://terra-arcanum.com/)de:Arcanum: Von Dampfmaschinen und Magie